AURORA, Colo. — The Denver-area Regional Transportation District will install an Automatic Train Stop safety system at a sharp 90-degree curve that has been the site of two light rail derailments, one of which shut down the RTD’s R Line through Aurora for more than two months, Colorado Public Radio reports. As described in a […]
Subscription: Metered
LA’s Metrolink plans four-day shutdown in December
LOS ANGELES — LA-area commuter rail operator will shut down all service for a four-day period at the end of December to allow for installation of a new signal system and other work. The service suspension is set for Tuesday, Dec. 26, through Friday, Dec. 29, and will cover the entire seven-line, five-county system, including […]
Canada launches registration requirements, database for transport of dangerous goods
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has launched new registration requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods, along with a new database for those who import, transport, or otherwise handle such goods. The regulations cover goods being moved by rail, road, or other means. The new regulations, which went into effect on Friday, Nov. 3, […]
BNSF Railway’s third quarter earnings decline nearly 15% amid volume slump
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s profits, revenue, and volume all declined in the third quarter, parent company Berkshire Hathaway reported on Saturday. BNSF’s pre-tax earnings fell 14.6%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue declined 12.4%, to $5.6 billion. The railway’s operating ratio increased 0.7 points to 68.4%. Overall volume declined 4.8% in the quarter, while average […]
Lionel 2023 Volume II catalog and the treasures it holds
Lionel’s 2023 Volume II catalog came out this summer, and several of the new locomotives, pieces of rolling stock, and accessories captured my interest. Let me share the new entries that, from the perspective of a postwar enthusiast, caught my eye. Maybe something in the latest Lionel catalog will speak to you as well. Different […]
The Mohawk that refused to abdicate
In the mid-1950s, in the waning days of steam on the New York Central, Trains Magazine Editor David P. Morgan and his friend, the accomplished photographer Philip R. Hastings, had a memorable encounter with a NYC Class L-3a 4-8-2 Mohawk in Shelby, Ohio. The Mohawk had seen better days and was assigned to a lowly […]
New York’s Second Avenue Subway extension gets federal funding boost
NEW YORK — Extension of New York’s Second Avenue Subway project, which will add stations in East Harlem, has received a boost from a new funding agreement signed on Saturday. The $3.4 billion grant — “the largest Capital Investment Grant in the history of the program,” according to a social media post by U.S. Sen. […]
State of New Hampshire seeks to sell ‘Flying Yankee’ streamliner
LINCOLN, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire is looking to sell the Flying Yankee, the 1935 articulated New England streamliner built by Budd Co. for the Boston & Maine Railroad that is virtually identical to Burlington’s Pioneer Zephyr. The Concord Monitor reports the state has issued a Request for Proposals for sale of the […]
SMART-TD ratifies BNSF agreement on scheduling, sick time
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — SMART-TD members have ratified a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway on scheduling and sick days reached in September, the union said Friday. Approximately two-thirds of the members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division voted in favor of the agreement, which includes paid sick days and […]
Hudson Tunnel project lands more federal funding, marks start of work
NEW YORK — The much-delayed Hudson Tunnel project to build a new connection between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station has received an additional $3.8 billion in federal funding. The additional funding brings the federal commitment to the $16.1 billion tunnel project to more than $11 billion, Bloomberg reports. It was announced Friday by […]
The history of Railway Post Offices
Railway Post Offices Mail moves by train In the 1830s, shortly after the establishment of the first railroads in the U.S., the Post Office Department began to ship mail by rail. The year 1838 saw some sorting of mail en route between Washington and Philadelphia, but the first Railway Post Office car is generally thought […]
Connecticut heritage railway acquires Frisco 2-8-2
ESSEX, Conn. — The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, a heritage railroad operated by the Valley Railroad Co. on a former New Haven rail line, has purchased Frisco 2-8-2 No. 1352 from the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, the group restoring Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2100. The locomotive was built by Alco in 1912 […]